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BY ALBYN. * I'll point out to tbee In various lessons, some that may surprise." — YOOKO. HALIFAX, N. 8. PRfNTED BY JAMES BOWES & SONS. BKDFORD ROW. 1873. CAN PR 379 ^ [5^^3SER llitll|ousitc (CdlciK Hibvaro JOHN JAMES STEWART COLLECTION ^^ ^^^^i:^:) v> ml • RUSTICATING IN REALITY. PIERIAN PARAPHRASE. I \' r;j ,,"«. /\^i O \vi\X tl '/9 rV" 1 'I " '"^^ >: '. I ' TO JOILN TEMPEST, Esq. Tiiia fFUSIOX OF THE ACADIAN MUSE IS INSCHIBEI) Br HIS FAMILIAR FRIEND, rriE AUTHOR. 1ess of the difference between What 1. on and veracity implies Make statements of the most conflicting kind, And each asserting on their solemn oath (Oaths have but little sanctity with them) What must be quite impossible is true, And neither of them sparing in the choice Of epithets, in Billingsgate imknown, Charges, and countercharges fierce and fast Come forth in torrents from polluted lips ; And what is worse, if any worse can be. On some occasions aspirants new fledged Just from the students trammels disengaged, All eagerness to exercise their tongues (Perhaps the brains, if any they can boast, Are for the present left in some saloon) Pretends to rectify what is amiss. Or reconcile absurdities too gross ; Then, then, yes then «)ur sufferings begin, Then it is ours half stupitied to sit And listen to a day's disturbance, made Ostensibly about a balance due Of five and twenty, or of fifty cents. But really as a rivalship in noise And nonsense of the most ridic'lous kind, Sometimes commencing in a playful mood, Then by and by a little warmth creeps in An introduction unto harder hits The cut oblique, and then the cut direct, Opprobrious names and threatening attitudes That gain no prizes in the public schools, And censure more than commendation claim Are purposely omitted in our text Nothing to them is similar, except The ruffled plumage of two Bantam birds That have defiance at each other crow'd, So are their compliments and their replies Not always over-courteously exchanged Till one or other foil'd, but furions still Leaves the arena in a towering rage Our curse, or providentially it may Be our contempt he has beside his fee. It is not marvellous that from such scenes Of every day occurrence, that we do Appropriate exemptions for a space, In sylvan shades to find a calm retreat Where nothing wranglesome, or wretched comes, And seek diversion in a diff'rent mode, Companionless, unless our pencil may As an accomplice in the very act. The meditations of our mind betray ; Whilst on excursions into airy thought Where human footsteps have no pathway found. And human frailties are forbidden room. No promptings from the Lawyers we have now, Nor from the City : tho' materials there Are plentiful; we are in Dartmouth, where So many legends mea ureless are found, With sprinklings of realities b-itween, Some almost out of date, and other some That have no prestige, save one birthday yet And true or false, by cat'rers for the " Press," Are made to flourish in Newspaper fame. But " know all men" ours is the Dartmouth v;here Canals are butcher'd, and so famed for '' Skates, Fashion'd and fiuish'd in a faulcleps shape, Nor ought superfl'ous in them can be seen, Nor wanting ; nathless curiously contrived, Nothing offensive to a taste like ours. Albeit no stranger to fastidiousness. Nor any margin for improvement left. The only perfect things that ever came Complete from the creative pow'r of man. Just fasten on a pair some afternoon. What time the lakes appear like plates of glass,} So much the better if there should be two Well matched, a lady, and a gentleman, And by some evolution on the ice, 8 That leaves no doubt upon tho skaters' skill. Made opportunely in a sportive mood By way of preface, ere you clasp her hand, A nd glide away insensible with joy, Just caligraph full in the lady's view. Tho' not facsimilies of " Staples' " style. But flexures of the most familiar kind. The question unpronounceable in words And mark what blushing evidence it gives Of the denouement that beneath it lies. To the spectator, fixing on the skates, Seems in the twinkling of an eye to change A pond'rous piece of perishable clay To an etherial being, on the wing, Whose eyes already have the distrtuce done Tho' mute ; a flourish of the hands confess, And ev'ry step of strong excitement tells How much of human happiness is there. Each movement exquisite in the extreme And to enthusiasts of tne Albyu type Some conjuration must be present then, As floating, flitting, flying, to and fro Light as the fairies of a former age, (Nor wanting in one attribute of theirs) Still on the superstitious might impose So spectreish, and shadowy they seem. Apparently far more of air than earth, Whether they emulate the arrow's flight, Or, into sections subdivide the lake, Or in the twists and turns cot'llion like With the surroundings of the chequer'd scene Is made a pageant of a pleasing kind In the perfon.iance difficult to trace, As darting in and out among the coves Couples engaged, and unengaged are seen, Or in half circles sweep around the capes By alder-bushes, hidden from the view, Which, if not sworn to silence could relate How courtships in their presence do progress, What burning syllables with fervour breathed, What epithets in living whispers told, 9 Till then the tongue unequal to the task Of uttering the fev'rishness that's felt But now emboldcu'd in the lone retreat It tells, — perhaps no unexpected tale, Invested with love's sanctities, besides Sounding delicious in a lady's ear, Imagined better than expressive now, In fancy has permission to abide Or, haply paralysed with rapture then. Or prodigal of bashfuluess is seen To glow upon clie crimson * ountenance, Or photograph'd in a bewitching smile By signs, or symbols the response is made. Such pictures graceful as they do appear, In keeping observation on the rack, Gets pleasure with perplexity inwove As still new features in such freaks unfold, At times beginning where they seem to end, Yet vividly an extascy is felt Exhilerating in a high degree. If pride be pardonable, it is theirs That are accomplish'd in the Skating art. Tho' the excursions often are prolong'd Unto exhaustion. Belles and Beaux alike They only give the appetite a tone To have such '^ larks" repeated o'er again. Not so the Poet, — quite another theme Upon his pencil has a prior claim, But, deems not meet now to apologise. Nor offer pleas for our erratic mode, Nor fabricate a plausible excuse To palliate the divergence we have made In rusticating, latitude is lost, No line, nor landmark in the vistas seen To show the precincts where our license ends. Or advertise us when to make a pause. This seems an Episode ; tho' we admire The rich display of living gracefulness And female flourishes on " Acme " skates, What fascination in the attitudes What agile forms, what litheness in the limbs, T^ 10 And the deneanour, blameless to the eyes Of captious critics, tho' severe inclined, The exercise of Skating can afford ! But Skating nov/, as well as botc.h'd canals Is out of season in the month of June, And only for the unpoetic noise Of factory wheels that mingle with our verse, And from proximity almost too close Demand attciition more than we can give, And half retrieving from the theft of time, Disastrous dreams that ended in dismay, As " Albyn " erst did prophesy would come, They had not here been uninvited guests, But in parenthesis read what is writ To while away a melancholy hour. We write at home beside our hermitage Retired, not hidden from the public view, The scenery of that domestic caste That every day is in a village seen, Careless of suns and stars, so out of place, Nor much enamour'd of a cloudless moon As lending lustre to a line of ours, Or using Angels as expressly made For similies to figure in our verse Such outrages on common sense we shun, By modern poets frequently employed, Distinguishing. — if they distinguish ought — The difference of poetry from prose, Pilcing up pond'rous decorations 07i, Or crowding in the versicles they wreathe. Forgetting, that similitudes suppose Discription wanting, and assistance claim From tropes and metaphors to give them aid, And not as useless ornaments to dim Or complicate whatever else is plain, Nothing can well be fancied more absurd Than the resemblances so often shown Between things lying open to the eyes, Poetic license courteously permits. And Angels ! Spirits that are nowhere ceen, Not less presumptive than unfortunate, I 1 11 Such illustrations of the Attic muse That scarcely on the credulous impose, Whilst, censure from the ci 'tic's pen distils. This afternoon returninj^ from a stroll Amonjij the avenues in " Albert Park," An appellation readable in prose But has no music for poetic ears, "We join'd a Lady who with lan;^uid steps Was just begiiinin;T to descend the slope That forms an entrance on the western side. In the hereafter, (awkwardly enoufrh) WHiat is for Ihnihvard or Broadway there, A lovely f>irl, left motherless when young In better days adopted as her own, Eleven summers only she had seen With laughing eyes, and interesting face, Upon her arm an empty basket hung Empty, unless some faded Mayflow'rs might Another epithet than empty claim, Clung to her side, and he.d her by the hand, . Not alwavs so, her sole attendant then, A branch of maple rich in mottled leaves Sufficed for fan, and parasol to both. And after greeting fashionably :nade Much in our own discursive k'nd of way Come slowly moving down the wretched road. And scarcely knowing where the thing would end Stood still at last and held discourse awhile. In former years, when she was in full bloom, We frequently had met, as strangers meet Without advance, or recognition then On either side ; prosperity was hers, (Nor was the Poet destitute of pride None without peril might on it presume. Among the boldest they were bold who did) Hers too was health, and happiness besides. Such happiness as finds nutrition in A heart where folly in profusion grows. But in an evil liour the bubble burst, Now she is poor, and delicate, and sad, And our positions altered, not reversed, 12 Brought into memory long; forgotten days, Acknowledging in queries and replies The very slight acquaintanceship wu had. We claim no privileges hen-: to repeat The various topics that we touch'd upon, Pleasing in part and partly painful too, Not purposely intended to give pain. But as a postscript to our interview She for a keepsake craved a simjle page Of some blank verse eflfusion fvom our pen, With an injunction that no love-sick tale. Nor superstition of uncertain date Shoidd o'er the compliment a shadow cast, And added smiling as we said good-bye, '* Nor gossip in a sewing-circle told." Direct refusal, — our emphatic no, Might have sulficieut for the purpose been, Of answering such delicate demand Juiit then less prudent than politely made. And pleas to urge were plentiful that might Rule out the application then and there We have not fancy now at our command. Vivacity no longer is our guest. Nor does the Muse fit entertainment find Imprison'd in this hermitage of ours. Nor is there any obligation binds To the performances stated or implied. But what we can by argument make void. And more than all, and fatal in the case (We own the truth, but write it with regret) The very cunning of our hand is gone, So apt to tingle when it touch'd a pen. To photograph the figure of some fool. Or stereotype duplicity in verse. Stern, and forbidding as -we may appear, Or find it needful sometimes to assume There is a vein of softness in onr heart, Has never been hermetically' seal'd, Nor ill to reach, the region where it lies Tho* force upon it has been flung away, But ever vifhen necessity requires 18 Obedient to a frcstiire or a look, Tho' imperceptible it o\erflo\vs. But shuns exposure where it can be seen In charities, in churches, and bazaars, Not always open to the public view, Yet by a secret sympathy has grief To the elixir always access found, Ev'u sighing bosoms and the tearful eyes, Feel influences they would blush to own. It were as useless ruinajrins about To find another plausible excuse. As for a Lady in a group of friends To feign reluctance that she does not feel, And simper when to the Piano led, The idol of some idiot staring mad, Who stands enraptured o'er the strangled tune, Imagining it music that she makes, Then stamping feet, as well as clapping hands. A trashy tribute ; finishes the farce. There is a proverb, tho' it be not new, In memory visible as it exists. Bearing a maxim not to be despised. That valour often prodigally praised, Is only half an attribute ; a kind Of bachelor, 'till to discretion wed, And has relationship to the advice, A very gem of thought, the old town clerk Of the Ephesians in an uproar gave, And (heathen as he was) we much admire, To wit, " that nothing should be rashly done." It is admitted luck in leisure lies, But has not yet with laziness been found, This aphorism should not be forgot, Yet even with leisure time will not abide. And as the evening star already shines Avails it ought procrastinating, when We may at such a very little cost Indulge our foible, and Madam too, Not that the lady is exactly old Or even in dotage, or decrepitude, Tho' well advanced in the decades of life, 14 However frivilous appears her whim, Our coimterfeititi;^' conjuration may A coinin«!: sii^h transform into a smile. Wo nod ! it is not siojjjular in caste, But then the nod when made, is " Alhyu's " own, And has a ciiarni where it is understood Beyond what is expressihle in verse, Not loss eiTective than the sijrnal f?un Is to the Micnuies when their flimsy fleet. Are to the startin;^ place in time convened To pull a race for some Dominion rag. Or .ihle sovereign, more attractive still, One gold made current on a sliding scale Among the Nova Scotian serfs and slaves Trapann'd aiul sold for "• eighty cents a head," To Canada hy Tupper, Howe & Co., The other Majesty; a glitt'ring prize The head and shoulders of our gracious Queen, And both together tether'd in a tie More closely than the celebrated twins, The Chang, and Eng of Siamese renown, Naught then of" Stoic " in the Indian seen. All eyes alert, and open every ear To note the telegram that tells the start, And as the muzzle lightens with the flash Down dip the paddles in the waves at once. Such the alacrity our nod attends ; Unquestion'd, and unanswer'd, it can bring Before our eyes without a whisper breathed. What implements a Poet may require. The writing-desk, a pen, and foolscap sheet. These with the inkstand, and the lamp of course Completes the schedule of our stock in trade. And on our triped, mute and motionless We wait to welcome the Pierian train. Whilst brooding o'er some buried episodes, Associated with our female friend, We are astonish'd at the vast amount Of human trifles. Time has not destroy'd, And the originals that gave them birth Their genealogies already lost; ,:i l .:, 15 (Ours too may be among the number seen, Albeit a Martyr dignifies the line) Crowds to oblivion long ago cousigu'd, But partially from observation kept, Salute us as we wander in the past. And to our presence throng unbidden guests; Some, not a feature in their figures changed. Some, skeletons of what they erst have been ; And some that only visible appear Upon the edge of recollection seen. But still like memorandum notes retain Some incidents escaping memory's grasp, Not to be from forgetfulness retrieved, Hordes join'd to hordes, that for a lapse of yean Without a label hidden out of sight. And difficult to be distinguish'd now, Make fruitless our conjectures to obtain What measure of ubiquity is theirs. Some faculties belonging lo us now Are found imperfect in our present state, We dream for instance, and when we awake Can frequently remember what is done, And said, and heard, but how at such a time Is memory employed ? Can it be double then ? Or how is it composed ? One part asleep. Another active found ! but found at fault. As oftentimes we see, and hold discourse With the departed, half a century dead. And tho' well known, it is from memory hid, Yet when awake are certain it is true, And a perception vividly remains Of the perplexities that we were in, Of difficulties various and vast That baffled ev'ry movement we would make. Might not some learned phrenologist explain Or show us in a photographic shape The cause of all these aberations in Those wild excursions fancy undertakes, When slumber seizes on the human frame. And leaves the mind to ruminate at large In tbe conglomerate of things absurd^ 16 Lenvin;^, nt least it often lina left ours, BewilderM in cxtravaj^ance extreme, Perhaps things might appear inviting then, And perseveriugly pu/sued, but still Impossibilities that have no name. So too, imagination, far and wide, Outstretching to infinitude appears As only in its infancy as yet, Including all tliat glorious " Milton " sung. And all the living portraits " Shakespeare " drew. The rich magnificence of " Spencer's " verse, And constellations " Scott " has made to glow. We look not now at the celestial heights. Where " Newton" soar'd, nor to the countless suns By " Ilcrschel " in the empyrean placed Almost beyond what mortals comprehend, Tho' in eternity they may be known Among the commonest of common things. But aspirations exercising now, Half paralysed from the restrictions made At evening hours by the unletter'd muse. Need we repeat such faculties as ours Are immature, tho' fitting for our State, And prominent, imagination looms Gigantic o'er some others we possess, With features of a fascinating kind Placed high in rank, but is a stripling still, And in another sphere it may assert The dignity to birthright that pertains Atoning then for errors uow it aids. In modern days degraded to the task ' Of propping up pretensions unto fame. That attribute which only God can give, And in all ages, either more or less By special favour to the sons of song, Has made it theirs, hereditary once, But often pilfer'd in the present day By Amateurs that take the rhyming itch, To lend a relish to their filth or froth, Or, it may be to gild the noxious pills Prepared by them to poisoa youthful minds. 17 i ! More openly these brazen butterflies The Novelists with daring hands profane, Forbidding tho* the operation seena, Dissect the poet's pencillings to find Id vulgar parlance, (more euphonious too) To plujider all the choicest, sweetest tiowers, Or suck the nectar woven in his wreathe. Distilling, and distilling it again. And fashioning it in another shape. In combs perhaps, such as the hornets make, Nor less destructive when with morals mix'd^ As half the world will gape to gaze upon The verbiage in a fla?hy volume set Vilest of all the pestilences theirs. And impudently prefaces the theft With a pretence that it is something new, Albeit disgusting to the man of taste As the effusions of a prurient pen. Take up the readiest Novel comes to hand, Beginning at the title page : read on. And if examined with a critic's eye. Before the second paragraph is closed. Imagination in a tawdry dress Disfigured for a purpose will be found. But found perverted from what Heaven desigu'd, The Author, pleased if for a single week. Or reading season the hro'.hure should live, The figments are allow'd to give a zest, Or fev'rish pathos to a love-sick tale. Then be forgotten in the rubbish pile Of fictions : lost among ten thousand more Still-born, or strangled, or put out of sight. To make another generation room Inanimate but for the livingness (Jf poetry transmuted into prose. The Patriarch Jacob saw in olden days (Tho' rather young to be a Patriarch then) But in a dream he saw a ladder set Upon the earth and reaching unto Heaven, On it the Angels travell'd up and down, But how employed, or, on what errands sent 'it 18 Is iinrevealM, ant! useless to enquire, Tlio' 8uch conveniences arc out of date. Ima<^ination now supplies their place, On it the Poet soars from globe to globe, And in iinraensity^s unbounded space Enjoys excursions measureless and vast. Where in a thousand years suns rise but once, And in another thousand set again. Whilst on a scale proportionate the stars And all the planets walk their airial course To music of an origin unknown. And with a fascination far beyond The richest notes that organ ever gave, Tho' '' Ilagarty's " should be the master hand To rapture wakes the captivating tones When a tc ileum in his happiest vein Peals thro' the aisles magnificently grand. And makes the audience quiver with delight. Imagination should be perfect here, It is for earthly purposes, and must Become annihilate, or thrust aside When Time itself expires, there is no use For it among the raatisions of the blest. When all our fondest longings and desires Shall be far more than fully realized, Not even one aspiration unfulfiU'd. Nothing to ask for or imagine then Its ministry fcr mankind at an end. Oh I had the element of education been My heritage, how much at evening hours I could the pleasing privilege enjoy To sit beneath the spreading chestnut's shade, (All else that bears the epithet of mine, The ruthless insects labour to destroy Especially where promises are made Early of foliage and of fruitfulness) Beyond the reach of over-anxious thought, And for amusement mingle with my verse Emotions that spontaneously arise, And the mind's eye bewilder or delight, Or the illusion YBDish from the view 1 f 19 To l)c snpcccHed by another flash, A dash, i)erhap8 remeuihrnuco uwcops asido Or ovcrwhehns beneath a sombre shade, Or haply hides beliiud a humid eye, . And like to some P^^olian harp ill-tuned, May ("eel the pathos, but the discord own Of joy and j^rief preferring equal claims, Tho' uuinvitiug, welcome when they come, Nor sent away without a heavy sigh. Not unlike one who has not learn'd to swim. And into ocean leaping at a bound. With no provision for a safe retup^ May, when he rises to the surface fiuJ The perilous position he is in. Imposing most the overwhelming waves At once acquaintanceship takes place between His folly and himself perchance ere then The veriest strangers, but familiar now. Familiar now, but now it is too late, The fatal plunge has been already made, And human aid may not avert his doom. Not quite as dangerous, but as rashly done, The bold attempt that Albyn has assay'd, As mounted on Imagination's wing Anxious to carry with him to the skies, If not the earth, at least the atmosphere. Forgetful of the office it performs, And fretting that no resting place is found For vain enthusiasts that may wander where Meteors, and comets are in Chaos kept. For systems having no beginning yet. Nor paths appointed for their special use And knows no syllables his pen can frame, Fit to describe the dazzling splendour seen,. Or awe intolerable to be borne. Reclined beneath the shadow of a tree, That thrice alas, year after year has been, Delapidated in the Autumn gales Of branches, and of beauty rudely shorn, ''ut canopies us with the limbs that's left» Than its, no other sympathies are ours "7 , 20 0^ I: 1 1 •I Companionable to a thing like me That has been wantonly tossed to and fro. ^10 stranger to vicissitudes in life, Or the bereav'ments Death remorseless makes, Calamities that more than once have drawn The Poet's sighing, and the chestnuts' sough Into condolence of a mournful kind. Amidst the silence of a pause in thought As if the very quiver of the leaves Shook too much feeling into fancy then. A breathing almost audible we heard Or seemed to hear, in accents soft and sweet, Like the tond music of a lover's song. At glearaiu. warbled in a distant grove, Acknowledging the joy some rural swain Is nursing from the smile of one he loves, Unconscious of the pleasure it awakes — Not less delightful to the child of song The revelation then to him convey'd, Albeit till now from over-curious ears It has been kept in memory embalm'd. " More happy far Albyn is thy meed. What Agur prayed for is already thine, The golden mean, without the golden age May be as much as mortals can endure ; Here in this quiet hermitage how sweet To own the pleasures of domestic bliss. The sanctities of love and friendship too. And sympathies like sunlight to the soul That make impressions never to be void. An enviable lot on earth is yours By thee there is so little to desire And better still, so little to deplore The chestnut tree ; a paradise at eve, Where contemplation can be entertain'd. And where content a fav'rite is become ' Nor hope is held a stranger when among The guests familiar with the Muses' haunt. Untroubled with an over curiousness In miniature to copy the sublime, Or in poetic numbers pencil down ' ' ■ 21 The mysteries of illimitable space In regions where imagination roams, Selecting barb'rous substantives required. (Not always fouud pronounceable at best Accent and emphasis alike unknown And polish'd only by repeating o'er) For telling motion, magnitude or speed, Of continents that float beyond your reach, Or calculate impossible details Of density or distance from this globe, With no results to justify the toil." Far other task, apparently has been By circumstances to our pen assign'd. For shadowing the leanings of our love We gather up what gifted ones have miss'd In living landscapes, and sequester'd scenes, Where nature claims to rusticate at will. Or in the noonday comes for calm repose. What time the songbirds fold their wings awhile Nor audible the music that is made. As lazy brooks move noisily along, Tho' often proud to play the Minstrel's part And babble out a ballad of their own Even '•" Pero " though for playfulness inclined Seems reconciled to stretch himself at length Among the grass, or sit with drooping ears, And of such silence question with his eye — Not even a whisper in the lapse is breathed, But ev'ry leaf is speechless with delight, Or if enjoyment burdensome be found How glad to have some plausible excuse To cultivate acquaintanceship with toil, Or greet the wretched with a gracious smile. Deem not the Poet's pilgrimage has been All of it sunshine or all summer days. Or pass'd unmingled with corroding care, With anguish and excruciating pain, And such vicissitudes as come uncall'd. Not more expected, than unwelcome made, Nor felt their riddance to be any loss. Whether intruders with a hostile frown Or visitations Providence allow'd, 22 I ' I Or dignify'd with appellations meet, To neutralize those of a milder caste, ''''' As accident, misfortune, or mistake ' That stir the temper, or distract the mind, ' • ' And oft auxiliar circumstances gave " Significance more savage to the shaft, ' ' That found a passage to the Poet's heart. O do not deem his lengthen'd lease of life, Tho* far extended and extending still, I.(as heen undisciplined in sorrow's school, Nor grudge exemption now from want and woe, That Hea\en by special favour has bestow'd On nature's nurseling in declining years, But rev'rently and with profound respect Acknowledging the giver and the gift, Yet would this world and all that it contains Be utterly found wanting as a bribe, To have life's drama acted o'er again. Start'ling this clause adopted in our Creed, To worldlings and the men of wealth- may seem. Anxious to live at least a thousand years, No matter what affliction they endure In all the term embittering their choice. Even if their souls should be the premium paid, And scarcely less surprizing it will sound Unto the righteous over-much and those Who only use religion as a mask, And when convenient put it off and on. Subservient to accomplishing their ends. Consisting less of a profession made Than what to them costs nothing— sighs and groans Adding, perhaps, upon the Sabbath days Observances to catch some careless eye Or to hz more effective ; length of face, A thin device but for distinction kept Between them and the openly profane. The purse has been the best criterion found In measuring the souls of saints like these. Unerring, that thermometer can tell The tone and temper of the human heart, With all the variations high and low, : .Hi, 23 Even to the longings that it entertains. However carefully kept out of sight - '. , '; Or represented by a sickly smile, A coin still current in the Courts of Law, But among Christians questionable now. Christians of modern date to eyes like ours, Are things of rather complicated kind. , . , We know of one, a specimen unique , From Halifax, not quite an hundred miles ' ' , Or half the distance would be more correct, ■ ',\ (But let the readers as they may incline .' . Narrow the distance to a smaller space, , . And fancy the location where they will) • In all that constitutes the very type , , , Of Pharisee ; — a countenance demure, , ' • Some character of piety his pride, ' , But. frequently discounted at a loss And when begun, which was not very oft Could make a prayer of prodigious length, , , Not always unexceptionable felt, ^ Phrases, and paraphrases intermix'd. Parentheses most awkwardly stuck in To paragraphs repeated o'er and o'er, Words sometimes meaningless, and sometimes vaii Taken at random, not as fittting best. And flung together in a shapeless mass Whilst his petitions tho' in stereotype. If known at all were by conjecture known Only, prosperity and length of days In the confusion loom'd up large enough. And never in the peroration miss'd " With any other blessing could be spared" As he considers greed, if not a vice At least a very scandalous affair. And in society almost a crime, Altho' his censure would be lost on those Who keep their own, and get what else they can. Such his performance, part in whispers said, And part in tones terrifically loud, No key or cadence in the human voice From highest treble, to the lowest base, hi 1 ''1' 24 The scale inverted, ill -sted too But never willingly mc ieful made To aid his iitt'ranee and tno' very odd, It pleased the audience where it was rehearsed. None quarrell'd with his manner or his mode, And criticism would be cast away Upon the half a talent he possessed, But with more wealth than competence requires Tho' never lavish'd upon him had been That sumptuous fare the Scripture has condemned. (At least in it no commendation finds) Associate with extravagance in dress. That stifle aspirations after Heaven — Courteous in manner, prosp'rous in his trade, And if not happiness, its twin, content In his domestic circle could be seen. Nor less convincing evidences show'd His neighbours and acquaintances, how fair The standing in society he holds. One Sabbath Day (Oh ! will it be believed) That Sabbath was communion Sabbath then. Among the flock when as to them seem'd meet, Were celebrating their Redeemer's love And erst the subject of our verse had been A worshipper among the Brethren there. But now abandoning that hallow'd place, A span of horses, and a splendid Sleigh Had more attraction for the simple fool. And for a drive along the Truro Road The man's Religion if not cast aside On this occasion has been left behind. But looking past the peril of his soul We start to know how pleasantly he paid Six Dollars for his two or three hours sin — Another phase of character was shown The Sabbath next, that day was set apart To advocate the " Missionary " cause. And gather in pecuniary aid To send the gospel into heathen lauds, And if we must the naked truth relate, This piece of piety could only spare 25 A Single Cent I ! Yet who in Dartmouth doubts That such a man is not a christian now. If measured by the royal standard " fruit " Would " Mene Teckel " not be written here ? The stream of Life glides smoother, sweeter on Amidst vicissitudes that gather round Occasionally, to retire and dwell Within a world our own, a world of thought, A world wherein tranquillity is found And passions that offend are left outside, Where fragrance more than earth can give is ours But present only when the Poet's there. Just as a maiden blushes overwhelm'd With joy to meet her lover unawares. And then embarrass'd with too much delight Acknowledgment unbidden blunders out, Forgetful of what ettiquette requires. Whilst deeper colour in her countenance The palpitatings in her mind confess. The rapture such, and the deliciousness That Albyu frequently luxuriates in Whilst rusticating in some rural scene Where songbirds pour their symphonies divine. Nor less in silence that assembles there What time the concert in the distance dies, And wearied leaves in listening attitude Upon the maples motionless become Then is there something words can ill express, Felt — exquisitely felt by him alone, , 'Though ever irksome unto vulgar souls. Nor seldom is the vestibule recross'd Void of reluctance what time dut^ calls To mingle with the multitudes again Whose sympathies — if such to them belong, Do bear the character Policemen bear. Invisible when they are w^anted most. Mere sensual indulgence their delight. Nor higher aspirations they enjoy — Fresh from a purer latitude, we look With sad astonishment upon their choice Ah ! if they knew the standard that is ours, 26 i*j ' I ' I*' '■' I I Some exhibitions would be diff 'rent made, Or, in another aspect advertized Nor to the sensitive day after day, Persistingly their appetites expose. For half a century our Location's been Within the City, or a suburb nij;h, And in that cycle, brief when it is past, Three generations vanish'd out of sight, Three generations of men in their prime, The willing victims of licentious lives Remember'd only, if rememberM now For some extravagancies they could boast Above the boon companions of their time Of such, one city of the Dead is full. Another moyo capacious filling fast Of the disciples that they left behind. Dead to persuasion, to remonstrance deaf. Deaf to the anguish in a father's heart. Deaf to the meltings of a mother's love. Blind to the blush that burns upon the face Of a fond sister, where a smile should be. And blind to blanks in their associates made, That like themselves did hasten to fill up Void spaces in the cemetery seen. They grudged to see unoccupied, aware Debauch already has made sure to them. Nor stipulates to make a long delay. Foreclose the mortgage and a transfer make So marble tablets may hereafter show Where fast young men are hidden out of sight. Alas ! for them : no contemplation theirs. No joyous moments in scquester'd haunts. Where Nature in her loveliness is seen Array'd in beauty, that the summer gives, "Where revelling and riot is imknown. Nor do the vicious, or. the vain intrude To bring pollution with their presence there, But the Pierian nymphs with bland address Welcome the innocent to their abodes, And unsolicited their steps attend Or bid thera banquet in their leafy bowers, 27 Balmy and blissful more than lanpjnagc tells. Upon the Dartmouth steamboats, crowds that cross The harbour to and fro hear ev'ry day Or, almost ev'ry day a long haranp:ue Or disquisition on that tortured text ' ' " Man is a selfish animal," if true (The adage always has been doubtful held) The' not our Creed, wo randidly admit An implication, when it comes onr way, Of being rather partial to the phrase But own it otdy ap])licable when In leisure hours we write to please ourselves, Hence if our paraphrase be wanting found In modulated, or in picture lines In similies, or syllables sublime And scholarly equipments of the age, That do the Epics and the Odes adorn 01 Thomson's, Cowper's, Milton's matchless verse, And in a Magazine, or a Review, * Subjected to some captious Critic's sneer, "Who measures by an arbitrary rule We claim exemptions on that patent plea. Gifts never should be valued overnice. But venture not with a presumptuous hand To stretch a line and set our signet on. The heights and distances that are between A classic Author, and an Amateur Distinguish'd less by fortune than by fame, Some faults inherited in both are seen, Besides peculiar failings of their own. And startled by the legacies the^'' left What paths they trode would carefully evade, Quite satisfied through literary wilds Where ferns and flora courteously combine. And shady lanes to wander all alone. There we among the rocks and streams, and flowers Content, and happiness once counted myths Realities in Rusticating find. Ours is no dream of wild imaginings Without location, and without a bound, For Kings to quote or Courtiers to rehearse — 28 'B ■', I Nor picture of the pleasures Hope iuvests, Nor mistiness o'er memory that presides Or fev'rishness such as nfflicts the minds Of vain enthusiasts in poetic throes, Where stolid trifles are the premium paid To see their shadows photograph'd in fame. We only pencil memorandum notes On tablets such as accident supplies, Perchance the margin of a caucell'd writ, Or a subpoena that is out of date, Or envelope, if one should come to hand, Or even a sliver from a slatey rock If on it dots be visible when made. Whatever may a reference retain Of things imposing as we pass along, And in accordance with a dim idea Once fondly cherish'd but discarded now, To give them shape and fashion by and bye, That by and bye must be already past As svmbols neither faint nor few advise. And here they arc in native nakedness The quaint and curious in our Cabinet, Just flung together, in confusion flung. vSome disarranged, and dislocated some. But not the less original and lend To us the pleasures in the present found. Could poetry like wine improve by age, A copy of this paraphrase engross'd. If kept in manuscript for ten decades At public auction might a premium bring More priceless in an Antiquary's eyes Than the inscription on an useless coin (A beggar scarcely would stoop down to lift) Time has been long employ'd in blotting oiit Or, any crude memorial of the past. No matter what ; provided it be old. The vitriol drops distilling from steel pens And spued, or spouted out by parrot tongues In youthful days however acrid felt Make faint impressions on a head bleach'd white Beneath the discipline of fourscore years, "W^ £9 A veteran of no mercenary caste Alike prepared in passages of arms To take a tilt, with visor up or down, With treach'rous Ally, or a hostile lance As hypocrits and helots can attest, Or dash aside the dagger of a knave. And let the sunlight thro' his carcass shine, Or leave him labell'd like a bale of goods And pillory his profile to make sport. Should honour claim a compliment unkind^ We pitch a pebble playfully within. The bold aggressor's crystalline abode Nor fail of touching on a tender spot Tho' hid below where sevenfold darkness lies, And seven years silence secrecy secures Even certain gentlemen famed for long robes, That with our fancies are familiar grown, Stich allegations care not to dispute < /• - /; Since some of them we Sftmfi««d and skinn'd f/C^'^'^i'^^ ^^^ For having rashly our acquaintance made. Deem it ccmvenient not to cross our path Lest on their lips a blister miglit find room. In case some technical objection rise To our adoption of a legal phrase, We would evade the ronsequencc and write We finish here ; instead of '' \oe rest here," Considering the company we keep. Considering the pros and cons we hear, Considering the vapouring Ave see, Considering the rhetoric display'd, Considering the censure we digest. Considering our aj)titude to learn, Considering the allegations made And the rejoinders ; casuists alike With disquisitions in which we engage, Who could suppose the quantity so small Of legal verbiage mingled with our verse. We finish, coming from a restless pen Does something like a paradox appear, But only is a formula or myth A challenge, if not spoken yet implied I 30 Anil miicli in vo^ruc wlien a liamnj^uc is insido By nreiitleiiien \v!io tliumt a llov.iug robe Mori' viilu^arly (h'lUMiuiuited '' j^owii," A petticoat would not ha out oi place On souie ot'lliiun to say the very least. Spindles and distall.s too instead of '' briefs" "i^Iij^ht be becoming' in their equipa^ic, Adopts already in the spinning trade Altho' their yarns wove into common sense Mijrht be a fabric of a flimsy kind — Sutfieient for our purpose now to read In a ])arenthcsis, we Hnish here Until it be distinctly understood Which of the poem paf.^es we have wrote, May be by Madam tnost appropriate deem'd, More h);;ically which of them we'll |j;ive, And as the Grecian kalands may arrive Before her fancy, or our own be fixed, Nor is there any stipulated time Set, when the presentation shall be made On due consideration it is meet That our poetic hibours finish here. ^ ' t^ IIm ?i ^i^ ii. J ^' v/*. i /.